I’m currently cold crashing my first all grain (Regal Pale Ale, half tablet of Whifloc added) and as you can see it is still quite hazy.
-This picture is of a sample pulled and stuck in the refrigerator for ~24 hours
-Dry hopped pellets added directly into the fermenter
Can I add some gelatin to further clean this up? Cold crash longer?
I was planning on bottling tomorrow.
how long has the cold crash been? i’d do at least a week so that at about 3 weeks from when you started, you can rack. you may get the best clarification (if you are bottling) by adding gelatin to empty carboy or bucket, rack beer on top of it so it all mixes in, then leave it for 48hrs or so before proceeding to bottling.
It’s only been a day or so. My method of cold crashing is currently a PITA as I have to continually add ice to my Igloo cooler. Maybe I’ll just let it sit for a while longer.
I should ask to confirm…clarification is purely an aesthetic thing correct? Although I guess there could be hop sediment that I wouldn’t want.
yeah that is a PITA. crash as long as you or care to deal with it. sierra nevada is just one example of a bottle conditioned pale ale that is anything but clear…its fine. FWIW, i prefer the whole hop leafs for dry hopping. pellets can be another PITA.
Whole hop leaves are a great idea going forward. Thanks!
Bottle it, carb it, then throw them all in the fridge. They’ll cold crash there too. My beers are MUCH clearer after two weeks in the keg than they are after 24 hours.
That’s a good point. What’s the difference when I cold crash (pre-post bottling)? I think I answered my own question as a cold crash post-bottle would still provide a bunch of sediment in the bottle of the bottom vs. leaving it behind while racking.
Bingo. Less sediment in the bottle.
If you use a secondary, you will not need to cold crash the beer. Most yeast strains drop clear within a week in a secondary. I never cold crash beer, as I prefer to let it sediment naturally.
No secondary here.
I rarely cold crash. Just another step and if I have beers brewing in a rotation, I don’t have the space to do it.
I also dry hop with pellets, but I agree that whole hops are much easier if you can’t or decide to not cold crash. I just don’t care much about clarity and once kegged, my beers rarely move.
The only time I do care is when a beer should be slightly turbid, but falls clear no matter what I do.
Is there any need to let the cold beer warm up prior to bottling? Forgot this one.
I can’t think of one. I never have. I keg with sugar to naturally carb. Different but similar.
remember, you trying for good distribution of sugar in the beer before bottling. you will be warming to 70-75 for bottle carbonation over several weeks, so let it warm up.
